Recently during a “stay-cation” I started to mentally plan for an upcoming family gathering and noticed that my usual worry and anxiety did not kick in. I had an epiphany at that moment – “I am way more relaxed when I am relaxed!”
My ability to make decisions from a relaxed state caused me to be able to sort out what thinking was helpful and what was unhelpful and make “relaxed” decisions from that place.
– How I felt (relaxed and positive) was influencing how I was looking at what was going to happen next
– Worry wasn’t creating more worry
Sounds simple but often our thinking creates a greater spiral of worry and anxiety that impedes our ability to make decisions and affects our interactions with others.
What is helpful to promote thinking that does not promote greater stress? And what can we do to calm our thinking?
There are many therapeutic strategies that work (aside from vacations) that can be used in our daily lives that help to calm our thinking such as; relaxation and breathing techniques, physical exercise, creative expression, mindfulness, challenging thinking patterns, life balance, talking! etc…
For more information contact;
Barb Larkin, Counselling Services
604-785-4359
barblarkin@shaw.ca
Call or email for more information
Barb Larkin, M.S.W., RSW 